Laserfiche WebLink
Retail and food-services sales,change from prior month <br /> 3.5% <br /> 3.0 <br /> 2.5 <br /> 2.0 <br /> 1.5 <br /> 1.0 <br /> 0.5 <br /> 0 <br /> -0.5 <br /> -1.0 <br /> -1.5 <br /> -2.0 <br /> 2022 '23 <br /> Note:Seasonally adjusted <br /> Source:Commerce Dept <br /> The decline in retail sales could suggest that higher interest rates are working to slow down the <br /> economy as Federal Reserve officials have intended. They think economic activity needs to ease <br /> to bring down inflation,which has cooled recently but remains stubbornly high. Fed officials <br /> have signaled they could raise rates again at their meeting early next month to keep downward <br /> pressure on inflation. <br /> Manufacturing output,which is also sensitive to interest rates, declined 0.5%in March from the <br /> prior month, and is down from a year earlier, the Fed said in a separate report Friday. And after <br /> a strong start to the year, hiring has eased for two straight months and the number of job <br /> openings has declined, signs the red-hot labor market is also cooling. <br />